The author takes issue with the Cyprian dictum, "There is no salvation outside the church." He insists that the only "means of grace" is Christ himself and His death on the cross, not the word or the sacrament. The church is primarily a pastoral, not redemptive, institution.

Gowens demonstrates that the verb "to save" does not always refer to eternal salvation, but sometimes to deliverances in our lives now - deliverances that do not have eternal consequence. Unless the interpreter of Scripture understands this basic and fundamental fact, he will necessarily embrace contradictions. Study with the author as he helps Bible students to "rightly divide the word of truth."